Gordon didn't know why he was here, or why those trees seems like it was grimace in pain. He couldn't even remember if it was normal or not, something must happened that made him confused. But he was sure that his mother would know, she always said that there were a lot of things that we couldn't understand in this world, thing like trees that grimace in pain or why some people awaken their power when the other not and he could always ask her if he was confused.

He looked up and see that the sky was black and there were a lot of those weird trees around him. He had some thought that the sky color shouldn't be black because it wasn't right, it just wasn't right. The color of sky should blue right? Or maybe white and blue he can't be sure but it definitely not black.

He was hungry, he needed to come home. His mother should be done preparing food for them, he needed to go home. But where was the way? It should be easy, just straight from the ranch to his home, yet he can't find a way to get out from here.

"Hello Gordon."

Gordon turns his back to look at the man who was speaking. He looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had met him.

"Who are you?"

The man was just smiling hearing his question. He squinted his eyes, so he could see the man's face more clearly but the man seemed unreal, he was like a painting on a blurred paper or a painting in a mirror the colors all over his body kept changing.

"Are you a wizard? My mother always said that your people are a bunch of weirdoes who like to mess with people mind."

He waited for the man reply but the man just standing there smiling. The man truly like a painting, unmoving. Maybe he just imagines its voice because painting doesn't talk, so after studying it for several seconds he dismissed it. He was back looking around for a way to go home. When he was going to walk to the one of the tree, he heard the voice again.

"That isn't the way to your home."

He turns back and looking at the painting of the man, it was moving like it was alive. The man truly fascinating him because though it was weird it was also beautiful, his body color keep changing just like before but it looks more beautiful when the man moving. It made him remember the time when all his worries melting away, when both of his parents on his side smiling, when he was the happiest.

"Who are you?"

"I am Amber."

"Do I know you?"

"You should."

The man answer confused him because he was sure that he didn't know this man. He wonders if this man was the wizard that his father promised would hire on his birthday, he thought his father had not done it because he had no money but here he was the wizard and his magic trick.

"Okay, so what is your name?"

"My name is Amber."

It was indeed he knows that name but he couldn't remember where or who the name was referred to. He looked at the man and felt annoyed.

"Enough with this could you explain yourself?"

"I could, but it isn't appropriate for the king to explain himself to his subject."

"King? Subject? What are you talking about?"

"You are confused because you are dreaming right now."

"I am? So this is a dream?"

"Yes though a Titled like you should have your full faculty even in a dream."

"Titled? What is that?"

"A title gives you power over autumn domain, like yours, the howling dust right?"

"Howling dust? Yes...that is mine."somehow he felt happy hearing his title, like he has remembered something that very important, something that he loved.

"Is it you that gave me a title?"

"No, it's another Fae."

"Fae? What is that?"

"It's our kind name."

"But I am human." He said confused. He could felt it in his heart, in his soul without a single doubt that what the man said was the truth. Then was he not human? When did he change? Why he couldn't remember it?

"When did I change? I am sure that I am a human, but I also know that what you said is truth."

The man was smiling, seeing it made him felt like when he walking home after working on the afternoon. He felt at peace and known that everything would be alright.

"You would come to your full capacity when the seed inside you has been mature."

Seed?

"What seed?"

"The seed that your progenitor that planted inside of you."

"Okay, so what is inside of that seed? What kind of seed we are talking about?"

"You will know when you ready."

Gordon scoff at the man, though he knows that what he said was the truth it was still annoying him to no end. Why he couldn't just say it clearly?

"I came here to tell you that the war is coming."

"What war?"

"You must ready."

Gordon eyes open to a white ceiling right on the front of his nose. He startled then fallen down to his bed, broken it.

"Shit."

He stood up from the bed and checked his body to make sure he was not injured and heaved a sigh of relief that he wasn't hurt at all.

Wow... I am flying when sleeping.

He looks up to the ceiling of his bedroom and to the broken bed then walked to the windows in the side of the room, open the curtain then sighed.

"Great, it is still dark, maybe I should sleep again" he looked at his broken bed." In my broken bed."

Gordon lay down on his bed, trying to sleep again. But no matter how he tried, sleep won't come to him so he just laying there thinking about his dream. Now that he was awake he remembered who this Amber guy was. But still confused about his warning about the war that was coming because as long as he knows the war the kingdom of Novus participate was only one with Vardim and just ended several years ago and the Hero who stopped it had been killed by him.

And what about the seed amber talking about? Why did he have to speak in riddle? Gordon wonders if all the old man always talking in riddle. Maybe he just became senile, nah who he was kidding, amber was a god so there was no way he going senile.

Gordon sighed, because he couldn't sleep he decided to come out. He opened his bedroom window and flew out to the open sky. Locked up in his room for days made him almost forget how exhilarating it was to fly. The air, the vastness of the sky and the wind that ruffled his hair, he misses this and when he looked down, he could see the light in some of the houses, flickering in the wind and in the darkness of night like a hope that refused to die no matter hardship it faced. He takes a breath and spread his awareness, tried to cover as much as he could. There were a lot of people enter his awareness, they mostly sleep and only several of them still awake, mostly men and some women.

One of the women interested him. She seems in distress, her mind was in turmoil and he could taste fear in the air but what was she feared? No one else near her. So he came down to where he could felt her position. It was a small house made of brick and single window, hovering in the air Gordon tried to peek from the small windows and what he see there shocked him. It was a single young girl against two men who looked like a demon? He wasn’t sure, but he wouldn’t stand doing nothing when there was a girl who in need of help.

-------------------------------

Leila was very unlucky today, from getting punched by nameless thug, loss her money and now these creatures, whatever they were, they seem wanted her for some reason that she doesn’t know about. It was really too much because what she wanted was just life in peace, and she doesn’t really care if she had to life in a house with a single room or had to work hard just for small bread everyday if she could have a peaceful life it would be enough. But fate seems has different opinion for her life because started from a week ago a series of misfortune had to befall her, like losing money, her saved bread somehow turn bad, lost her job, getting punched in the face, slipping in the mud like seven times a day and then now two creatures that looked human but definitely not coming for her in the middle of the night.

Leila body was trembling, she doesn’t know why her life became like this. She tried to remember if she had done something that angering someone important in this past week but she couldn’t find anything. What she had done was the usual thing that she had done a hundred times so why they after her, what was she done? Was it because her gift? But no one knows about her gift.

She doesn’t want to die or kidnapped because if you were getting kidnapped in these neighborhoods you were as good as dead. She often heard people speaking about missing young girls who never to be seen again, they said those girls were sold as a slave to some wealthy man or some cultist that used them as a sacrifice and she doesn’t want any of that so she starts to move, trying to take their left side to reach the door but one of the creatures take a grab of her right hand. She kicked the creature in its leg, but it felt like she kicked a wall, her leg was hurt but she ignored it and keeps kicking it in her desperate attempt to escape. But after kicking and punching for many times Leila realizes that it was futile, all her attempt means nothing to this creature, her heart clenched in despair.

“Help!”

“Please…Somebody helps me!”

“Anyone…Please help me!”

Leila was crying, she knew that no one cared for her, even when her life was in danger no one would come to help. She used to life alone so she had no one though she has hope some man or women who live near her house would hear her plead and willing to help but she understand deep inside her that in this life everyone was for themselves. Moreover these two creatures were very strong, they would risked their own live if they faced them.

When she had given up all hope the wind around her suddenly started to blowing hard and the dust starts to flying everywhere which made it hard to see what was going on even with her gift to see in the dark and she was very shocked when suddenly someone punched the creature in its chest so fast and hard it flying backward and hit the wall of her house, breaking it. She was standing with her mount agape disbelieve of what she just saw, she know how strong these creature was and yet, whoever it was that attacks them, he or she must be so much strong.

After several second the wind and dust disappeared in an instant like it was just some illusion that would go with a flick from it master. It amazed Leila who sees something like this for the first time, she had heard story from her mother when she stills alive that in this word there were people that have power like these, and they were called heroes. And in front of her right now was standing her hero, a young man around eighteen years old, tall with a shoulder length black hair and wearing a pajama. Why would he wear a pajama? Maybe that was his trademark though she prefers if he wears a normal cloth.

“Do not despair my lady for I am here to protect you.”

The hero said to her while lowering his head slightly. She smiled back at him that made his smile wider and his hair, it keeps moving like some unseen wind didn’t want to stop fluttering his hair.

“GRRRRRR”

She looked back with wide-eyed seeing that the two creatures still able to standing even after getting punched by the hero. The hero suddenly vanished and appeared above one of them, he was standing in its shoulder then spinning his body clockwise created mini tornado that engulfed both of them, and she could see both of them spinning fast and fast until dust covering them from the ground up to the sky then she heard a loud sound and the wind disperse, the creature was buried deep in the ground with only its head above the ground, it looks unconscious and the hero standing in the side of the creature’s head smiling at her. She can’t move her eyes from the hero who looks so handsome and charming in her eyes and wondering what was his name? And why didn't he wear shoes? Was he poor? Even a very poor girl like her still wears shoes so how poor was he actually?

“Look out!” Leila shouts out to the hero when she looked that the other creature was sneaking behind him and thanks to her warning the hero was able to avoid the attack. The hero looked furious and raised both his hands in front of his chest, dust gathered between his palms, rotating steadily until it formed a ball of dust the size of a human head then he thrust it to the creature which move to the side and avoid the hero attack, the ball of dust hit her house then grow bigger and shredded her house until only one side of the wall that was standing. Her heart ached when she looked at the only house she ever has gone just like that.

The hero moves fast in front of the creature and they trade punch and kick until one of the creature’s kick landed in the hero stomach, push him back a little. But the hero didn’t give up and attack it again using a blade made of the wind but the creature proved that it was not to be underestimating when he avoided the blade of the wind again and again and even made an attack of its own by produce blade of shadow when swinging his hand which avoided by the hero. After that they were standing still waiting for other to make a move first and Leila once again shouts out to the hero.

“Behind you!”

The other creature that buried on the ground turn out had dug itself out and tried to attack the hero from behind. But thanks to Leila’s warning the hero able to avoid a blade of shadow attack to his back by flying fast and landed behind in her side. She looked at the hero’s face that looked angry and annoyed which made her wonder if he had regretted coming here and saving her.

“I am sorry.” She said to the hero who looked confused at her.

“Why are you sorry? What did you do?”

“No…What I mean is because of me you are in danger so I am really sorry.”She said with tears in her eyes.

“Listen to me gorgeous, I am a knight who is ready to help anyone who needs help, and you don't need to worry because those two creatures aren’t a threat to me.” The hero said while smiling playfully at her that made her heart flutter and her face became red.

The hero made a gesture with his right hand and the wind eager to follow his command wrapped around the body of both of the creatures then he made the gesture again and they flew in the sky. She could see that the wind around the creature spinning faster and faster until it cut their body to piece. The hero made a gesture again, and the wind collected their piece of body to the front of the hero floating inside a ball of the wind then the hero sweep his hand and the piece of the creature body gone.

“See…I told you they weren't a threat to me.”

“But…but you looked overwhelmed by them and got kicked once.”

“Just trying to gauge their power, it is common in the fighting.”

“Really?”

“Of course…I would never lie to a young maiden like you.”

“Okay.” She looked down at her feet doesn’t know what she had to said to him.

“Where do you live? Let me walk you home safely.”

“Oh….I live there." She pointed at her falling house.

“Oh…that’s…well, I am really sorry for destroying your house.”The hero looks guilty which makes Leila's heart feel bad because the hero has just saved her life.

“It’s fine, really…really….because a life is more important and you have saved mine…so”

“That is make sense…hahaha..so where is your relative live? I could walk you there.”

“I don’t have any.”

“Oh…I am sorry.”

“It’s okay, I am used to it.”

“Alright but where do you plan to stay?” the hero asked her, he looked worried.

“I will manage.”

“Nononono…that’s…I can’t just leave you here, after I destroyed your only house.”The hero looked agitated. “What if they come again? What would you do?”

“I…I…”Leila wanted to convince the hero that she would be okay but she couldn't because in fact she was also very confused and scared to face all this.

“How about you stays in my house? I have plenty of room.” The hero said, and she would be very happy to stay with him but was he poor? She didn’t want to be a burden to him.

“You have house?”

“Yes?”

“….................”

The hero sighed.

“You can work at my place, so you can raise money to buy a new house and I promise I will help you too.”

“Okay and I will help you too.” She said while smiled at the hero because she felt she wouldn’t be a burden instead she would be able to at least paid his kindness. She wondered what kind of workhouse the hero stayed at.